Hexatopia Results

The Hexatopia class at Gotham Quilts was the most fun I’ve had in a while. It is always so nice stretching my skills, and Reyna definitely has an incredible skill set with English Paper Piecing. Check out the blocks I made.

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These are my first two blocks. Reyna did suggest we avoid really narrow pieces, really long pieces, very obtuse angles, and blocks with more than 24 pieces. I’m not a very good listener, but I also know that any problems I had I brought on myself. #worthit

I found that the secret for me was to cut out a very small section of pieces, put them together, then cut out the next section. This is my Fab Grab board. It really is fab for keeping the little pieces from slipping all over the place.

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One of my goals for this class was to explore EPP and curves. Reyna did not advocate curves, so I had a bit of independent exploration. I ordered a set of french curve rulers to help me keep my curves consistent. I found them to be very helpful. My son found them to be compelling, too. He couldn’t resist designing his own hexie. I’ve been tasked with making a quilt out of his design. We’ll see.

This is the result of my curved experiment. I love it. I’ll be doing a series of these flowers and making a project. These fabrics are from my Island Batik stash. When I’m not sure how fabric will behave, I like to use batik, because it doesn’t fray as much. It is a little bit tougher to needle, due to the tight weave, but it is worth it.
The pink is from Paisley Dot, the green is from a stash builder bundle, and the yellow is from Furocious friends.

I have a few deadline projects to work on this week, then a trip to a quilt show next week, so I don’t know when my next flowers will happen. I hope it is soon, though. I love that they are my very own. I want to put in more petals, deeper curves, and skinny strips. As The Bruce Dickinson would say, “I really want to explore the space.”

Here is a little more hexie inspiration for you. I’m having a think on how best to replicate this pattern. I remember seeing a book about manhole covers in Japan. This is my favorite one that I’ve noticed in NYC. You know what this kind of thing does to me? I’ll wake up at 4 AM with the perfect idea for how to get this into fabric, and I won’t be able to sleep until I’ve gotten it done.